This invention relates to control mechanism for use with a swing handle and flat rod system to latch a flat or slide rod within a bracket engaged to a door channel, to secure a metal door.
In the past, the known pivot lever bars, flat rods, and/or slide rods were used in conjunction with conventional latching devices where a portion of a slide rod would penetrate into a receiving slot to secure a metal door in a closed position relative to a doorframe.
The engagement of a portion of the slide rod within a receiving slot deterred the opening of the door in the absence of the manipulation of the swing handle. The problem with the known slide rod latching devices involved the lack of reliability and/or performance during prolonged use within a metal door. Use of the known slide rod latching devices frequently resulted in the undesirable bending of the slide rod, which in turn caused the distal end of the slide rod to deviate from alignment with the receiving slot of the latch. The failure of alignment between the distal end of the slide rod and the receiving slot of the latch rendered a door unlatchable relative to a doorframe.
One problem with the known prior art devices involved the rod guide and the latch point being located at different positions along a Y axis for the rod system. The separation of the rod guide from the latch point frequently permitted a door to flex at locations between the rod guide and the latch point. The known rod systems which separated the rod guide from the latch point placed an undesirable load on the rod system causing the rod system to flex during use. The flexing of the door, the placement of load on the rod system, and the flexing of the rod system, frequently caused damage to either the door or the rod system, rendering use of the door and rod latching system inoperative.
Another problem with the rod systems as known involved the difficulty of simultaneous orientation along both the X and Y axis of the rod guide and latch, as well as the door with the doorframe, prior to initiation of force upon the rod system. The lack of proper orientation of the rod guide and latch prior to manipulation of the control or swing handle frequently resulted in damage to either the rod system, the swing handle, and/or the door. In addition, the lack of proper orientation of the rod guide, latch, door and doorframe along the X and Y axis prior to the initiation of force on the rod system increased the wear on the door and rod system, resulting in accelerated maintenance expenses.
The misalignment between the rod guide, latch, door and/or doorframe, also frequently caused an operator to exert excessive force on a control handle, which in turn, may have caused the twisting of the rod system, the latch system, and/or the hinge. Damage to the rod guide, latch, door, hinge, and doorframe, frequently resulted.
Another problem with the rod latching systems as known involved the necessity to manipulate the rod system vertically into a latching position. The failure of a portion of the rod system, or rod control system during use, thereby increased the risk that the rod system would inadvertently descend due to gravity, separating the slide rod system from the engagement slot. A door would then become easily opened due to the loss of the latching mechanism.
These and other drawbacks of the prior art may be overcome by the disclosed invention.
A need therefore exists for a control mechanism for a slide rod device which minimizes misalignment between a keeper/stop and a bracket, to provide improved reliability during use in the latching of a door within a doorframe.
In general, the control mechanism for a door latch may be used with any desired metal door, or wherever a slide rod, pivot lever bar, and/or flat rod is used to engage a door within a doorframe.